Yuri's Day wins Grand Prix at Warsaw Film Festival

Russian-German co-production Yuri's Day won top honours at the 24^th Warsaw Film Festival.

Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz presented the Warsaw Grand Prix at the festival's closing ceremony on October 18. Yuri's Day tells the story of a self-centred opera singer whose son disappears when she takes him to visit her provincial home town.

The film had its world premiere in Locarno, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Prize. It is the fourth feature from the director, Kirill Serebrennikov. Berlin-based m-appeal is handling international sales.

A special jury prize in the Warsaw Competition went to Stefan Komandarev's film The World Is Big And Salvation Lurks Around The Corner, a co-production between Bulgaria, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary.

In the 1-2 Competition of directors' first and second features, the Grand Prix went to Omar Shargawi's Go With Peace Jamil. Iranian director Pourya Azarbayjani's Unfinished Stories received the Special Jury Prize in the competition, and Special Mention went to Music, from Slovak director Juraj Nvota.

Uros Stojanovic's film Tears For Sale won the Free Spirit Competition, with a Special Jury Prize going to Pablo Larrain's Tony Manero.

Heavy Metal In Baghdad was named Best Documentary while 2 Birds was named Best Short Film. The festival's FIPRESCI award went to The Investigator.

The festival also saw the 4^th CentEast Market, where producers introduced more than 30 unfinished projects and new films to sales agents, festival programmers and potential co-production partners. No sales were announced but Little Moscow, winner of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, generated interest among sales agents.